Chinn

My mother often brought up the subject of getting my brother Mahmud married. My brother Mahmud would refuse, saying that the houses were too small and that if he took up one room, it would be an injustice to the rest of the family. Once another room was built, he would agree to get married. We would have three rooms, which would be like a chicken coop. My mother tried to persuade me by saying that if Mahmud married in one of the three rooms, my mother and sisters could live in one of the other two rooms, and we, the boys, could live in the other. My brother Mahmud refused, saying, "No way. If a guest comes, where will we bring him in?" My mother would answer:

- What did he do?! When a guest comes, he always comes to our room or your brothers' room... This is the situation with everyone in the camp now! Your uncle's yard is also standing. It's true that his rooms are dilapidated. But we'll repair it and use one of his rooms.

We started renovating three rooms in my uncle's yard that were no longer fit for living in. Mahmud was going to get married in one of them. This left enough rooms for both guests and for my brother Hasan's wedding.

After my uncle's yard was renovated, my brother Mahmud suggested to my mother that we marry my brother Hasan too. That way, we would save on wedding expenses, and both my brother Hasan and I would start a family.

"Hasan is a very good boy. He gave up his education for my education and livelihood. If my younger brother also got married, my happiness would be doubled," said my older brother Mahmud. My mother also liked this idea and started the operation to persuade my older brother Hasan to get married. After a few days of pressure and propaganda, my older brother Hasan also agreed to the wedding. Now the main task was to find a bride. My mother would embarrass both of them by asking them what kind of girl they were looking for and what their requirements were. When she couldn't get a satisfactory answer from them, she would alternately invite candidates she thought were girls from good families. With that, my mother also went from neighborhood to neighborhood, looking for a bride. Whenever she heard that there was a girl in a household, she would go to that household and check the cleanliness of the house, the traditions in the family, and the discipline. Most of the families she went to were dissatisfied with such a matchmaking. My sister invited a girl who was studying at the Teachers' College. Hearing that she was like the full moon, had a beautiful personality, and her family was just right - a family suitable for us, my mother flew to the matchmaking. When she returned home, there was a sign of consent on her face. In the past, if two young people liked each other, it would be a wedding. After my mother described the girl, would the chief engineer refuse..? Now, if the bride's side agreed, all that remained was to set the wedding date. The next day, my mother went to the girl's side again and asked permission to officially come to the matchmaking. After a brief consultation with the girl's mother, she said that they could come on Friday after the 10th.

On Friday, my uncle and my sister Fatima also came. After meeting the two young people, they became more and more popular, and after they got to know each other, they returned with Mahmud and Widad engaged. This good news was celebrated with feasts on both the bride's and groom's sides. The wedding was scheduled for two months later. Two months were given for Widad to complete his studies, and my mother to find a bride for my brother Hasan.

No matter how hard my mother searched, she had a hard time finding a suitable girl for Hasan. She didn't like any girl she saw. One had curly hair, another had a long nose, another was a prostitute, and yet another had a dirty house. In short, when it was Hasan's turn, my mother's ability to like girls was out of control. She couldn't find a bride she liked, and she herself was in trouble. One day, my brother Hasan asked my mother, "Mom, why are you torturing yourself?" My mother turned around angrily and said:

"Do you have a small place? It won't be easy to find one that suits you."

My brother Hasan smiled and said:

"What I meant to say is that the bride was actually right next to you, not far from you. I couldn't tell her not to worry. I thought I would make it easier for you if I told you that you were in trouble."

My mother looked at Hasan in surprise and said:

-What do you mean? Or do you have someone... Okay, okay.. Who is he?!

-Su'ad, mother! Our neighbor is Umm Abd, and I'm talking about her daughter Su'ad. She's a good girl, right? You liked her, didn't you?

A smile spread across my mother's face as she caressed Hasan:

-Oh, our Sheikh Hassan... you said you loved Su'ad?

My brother Hasan's face turned red with embarrassment and he continued:

-Mom, you know me well, I've never looked at that girl since we grew up. You yourself praised her as a well-mannered girl. Besides, we're a poor family like ours. Our ancestors used to say, "Smear your face with the mud of your country" (A Palestinian proverb. This is used to encourage a person to marry from their relatives, village, town, neighborhood, that is, from a place they know well).

When my mother found out whether my brother Hassan was serious or not, she consulted my sisters. They also praised and approved of her, mentioning her good qualities. My mother went to Umm Abd's house early in the morning and explained everything. Umm Abd asked for time until noon, saying that she wanted to try to win her daughter's heart. My mother went out again after noon to get Umm Abd's answer. We learned what the answer was from the voices of my mother and Umm Abd. Neighbors began to visit our house to congratulate us.

The wedding preparations had already begun in our house. No one had stopped for the previous month. My mother lived between the house of the two in-laws and our own house. My brother Muhammad, I, and my cousin Ibrahim were the main servants of the wedding. At the height of the wedding, my mother burst into tears. She told my brothers and sisters, who were gathered around her, that the reason she was crying was because our father could not be with us on such a special day, and she made us all cry.

To be continued...